Movie Review: Hijacked (2012)

Directed by Brandon Nutt
Starring Dominic Purcell, Vinnie Johnson and Randy Couture

Special Agent Paul Ross (Randy Couture) seems to have his hands full, as he is simultaneously investigating some big-shot corporate bad guys while trying to reunite with his ex fiance Liesel, (Ashley Cusato). Things get dicey when she is hired by one of the kingpins he is investigating. Somehow they both end up on the crime lords private jet which is soon taken over by hijackers demanding a billion dollars, while in mid-flight. Its then up to Randy Couture, uhh....I mean Paul Ross, to save his fiance, save the hostages, and save the day.......and I’ll give you one guess how it all turns out.

I'm not going to say this was a complete bomb, but it did suffer from some pretty glaring deficiencies. First off, I'm a huge Randy Couture fan (as a fighter), as an actor new to the craft he’s still quite raw, and that was pretty evident here. They kept his lines down to a minimum, which was a smart idea, but he still looked a bit mechanical in his delivery. With that being said though, his fight scenes were actually pretty good, so I'm still holding out hope that he will get some more opportunities to improve because he does have great presence on the screen.

Movie Review: New York Grindhouse Superstars: Kathy's Graduation, School Of Sexual Arts and Tycoon's Daughter

Review by Alain Andbasquet

Situation: You, being the classic adult film lover, are knocking back a couple of 40's with one of your friends and start telling them about all the great films from that era of outlaw cinema. They? Are still way skeptical, with visions of hairy nutsacks, horny pizza boys and bad acting in their heads. Okay, fine. You're obviously going to need some evidence of a more physical kind (not that kind of physical, perv) to prove them wrong. After all, there are two kinds of adult films. The ones that can function as both a movie and an adult film and then straight up sleaze, in all of its sweaty and awkward dangling glory. After Hours Cinema DVD release, “New York Grindhouse Superstars” is completely and a 100% in the latter category. Even better for you smuthounds, it's a triple bill, all helmed by one of the most notable directors of that era, Shaun Costello.

Buy New York Grindhouse Superstars on DVD

TV on Blu-ray Review: Boss - Season One (2011)

Network television has been inconsistent at best over the past 20 years with its output of hard-hitting, truly dramatic TV. Blame it on reality TV, just weak writing or just a lack of backbone to create something that's not cookie cutter. Along with HBO, AMC and other cable stations, Starz has taken the torch with the popular shows Spartacus: Blood and Sand and the recently unleashed political drama starring Kelsey Grammer called Boss.

Newly issued to DVD and Blu-ray via Lionsgate and Starz, Boss is a tale that seems all too real with what goes on in today’s headlines with the influential men and women in various political offices. In what is a huge departure from his character “Frasier”, Kelsey Grammar plays power-hungry Thomas Kane, the fictional mayor of one of the great cities on our planet, Chicago.

Movie Review: The Iron Lady (2011)

Directed by Phyllida Lloyd

Movie review by Greg Goodsell

When we first see the elderly and feeble Margaret Thatcher (Meryl Streep) in THE IRON LADY, she is doddering over the price of milk in a Pakistani bodega with a clerk who barely speaks English. The painful irony is all too clear. Thatcher, the British Prime Minister who earned the sobriquet “The Iron Lady” by the then Soviet Union, was at one time called Maggie Thatcher, the Milk Snatcher” by her critics. Slashing civic programs and expounding fearlessly on her “sink or swim” philosophy, resurrected an ailing Great Britain to the level of an international economic powerhouse. Her fearless climb to power is documented in this film, giving the viewer a thrilling slice of 20th century history.

Movie Review: 1970s Triple Climax: GrindHouse Triple Feature (After Hours Cinema)

Everyone loves a good finish, getting there is fun, no doubt, but its the big, juicy climax that you remember most. And After Hours Cinema is at again, delivering not one....not two....but three obscure porno gems from the 70‘s. Chock full of all the good stuff you love about retro porn.

Youngun’s, this isn't your porn. It isn't even your parents porn, this is the stuff your grandparents were watching on a projector with the bedroom door locked.....way back in the day. When porn movies were grainy and dirty. When polyester was all the rage and wood paneling covered every wall. An era when the pubic hair was so thick the male actors looked like they were making love to sleeping badgers super-glued to the women's crotches. Ahhh... the good ‘ol days. Fans of this type of retro-smut have a lot to be excited about with this trio of spunk-flying goodness, so lets take a quick peak at whats inside...

Cinematic Hell: The Wild World of Batwoman (1966)

by Hal Astell

Director: Jerry Warren

Stars: Katherine Victor, George Mitchell and Steve Brodie

Buy The Wild World of Bat Woman on VHS (Really!)

Apparently to become a batgirl you have to be initiated under Article 21 Paragraph 6. You know, the one about wrist radios with direct lines to Batwoman herself and cups of honey, mint, cherry and strawberry yogurt masquerading as blood. These batgirls are fake vampires but they're hip, you dig? At least, that's what I think the point of this opening scene is. Who knows? Jerry Warren doesn't and he wrote and directed the thing. This completed a decade of insane movies for him that included The Incredible Petrified World, Teenage Zombies and Attack of the Mayan Mummy. He returned to the directors chair only one more time after this, for Frankenstein Island in 1981 which reunited the three stars of this film and added John Carradine. All his movies are bad, but they're more misguided than inept. As the title suggests, this is his most wildly misguided movie of all. A rip off of the successful new hit TV series, Batman, it has no idea what it wants to be.

Movie Review: Lady Snowblood (1973)

Director: Toshiya Fujita
Star: Meiko Kaji

Buy Lady Snowblood on DVD

Back in the eighties in England, I learned about genre film as much by reading about it as by actually watching it, given that the self appointed arbiters of public morals cut or banned movies by the bucketload. I remember reading with longing about a number of Japanese films from the early seventies, generally sourced from manga and featuring stylised violence and great gouts of blood, precisely the sort of thing that the censors had kittens about. Most notable were those written by Kazuo Koike and eventually, through an underground source, I found the six films in the Lone Wolf and Cub series, along with the American Shogun Assassin, compiled from the first two, which had a history of trouble with the censors, though it technically never made the video nasty list. I never found Lady Snowblood back then but I'm overjoyed that AnimEigo have made it available in a crisp letterbox print with solid subtitles and useful liner notes.

Movie Review: Young, Violent, Dangerous (aka Librii, Armati, Pericolosi, 1976)

Directed by Romolo Guerrieri

Movie Review by Greg Goodsell

A pretty young blonde, Lea (Eleonora Girogi) tells a stern police commissioner (Tomas Milian) that her boyfriend Louie (Max Delys)is planing a gas station heist with his two other friends. While the cops are too quick to write it all off to yet another jealous female, Louie and his friends Joe (Benjamin Lev) and Paul, a.k.a “Blondie (Stefano Patrizi)” follow through with the robbery, leaving three innocent bystanders riddled with bullets. It's only the beginning of their crime and murder spree, as the day grows longer and the boy count soars comfortably into the double digits. Buying weapons from some friendly thugs, the boys rob a supermarket and then gun down their accomplices in cold blood. The blonde joins the trio for the final leg of the journey in an attempt to break through the border into Switzerland. When two gangsters refuse to give them dummy passports, the guys bloodily dispatch them in a bit of vehicular manslaughter. Expressing callous disregard for all who get in the way of their bullets, the good, the bad and the ugly all taste lead and the trio's flight from the law ends with a big bang.

Movie Review: Dead Season (2012)

Directed by Adam Deyoe

Starring James C. Burns, Scott Peat and Marissa Merrill

A worldwide viral outbreak leads to a plague of hungry zombies scouring the earth in search of human flesh to consume. Amidst the chaos and rubble of what is left of the country, two people make radio contact with each other. Soon after they meet up, Elvis, Tweeter and her young friend devise a plan to escape and hopefully make a new life somewhere in safety.  They travel to Florida, meet a shady character and eventually get their hands on a boat. Map in hand, they motor out to sea in search of an island.  Once they find one, they soon realize not only is the island infested with the undead but there is also a group of survivors residing there which they are forced to join up with.

Cinematic Hell: They Saved Hitler's Brain (1963/1976)

by Hal Astell

Director: David Bradley

Stars: Audrey Caire, Walter Stocker and Carlos Rivas

Buy They Saved Hitler's Brain on DVD

They Saved Hitler's Brain is one of the greatest movie titles in existence, one that just exudes badness in the most awesome way. I've wanted to see it for years but hadn't realised that it would highlight to me a whole new subset of bad movies that I didn't even know existed, the precise opposite of something that plagued me in England growing up. It's not difficult to see why some movies being shown on television would be cut for content, especially exploitation films. However I saw films on TV like Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home that were cut too, films that contained absolutely nothing that might warrant censorship.

Movie Review: Scalene (2011)

Directed by Zack Parker

Starring Margo Martindale, Hanna Hall and Adam Scarimbolo

Fan’s of psychological thrillers, buckle your seat-belts because Zack Parker’s Scalene is about to take you on a wild ride.
In a nutshell this is a perceptual thriller which is told from three points of view revolving around the rape of a female caretaker by a brain-damaged and mentally handicapped man and his mother’s subsequent revenge after his incarceration.

The story is told in a very non-linear fashion, with the climax of the film being shown at the beginning and then the events leading up to that moment played out in a sort of helter-skelter kind of way that felt like puzzle pieces which slowly begin to fit together in such a way that you don't know what the whole picture will look like until the final piece is set in place. And when that final piece is set down, the picture looks nothing like what you imagined it would.

Cinema Head Cheese: The Podcast! #58 - Scattered

Kevin welcomes a special guest for a short introduction and our most coherent segment ever. Dave talks comic books this week in anticipation for Wizard World Chicago. Jeff does a little Blue Cheese and some Girls Gone Dead, and Kevin reviews the Superheroes documentary and the latest album from Calabrese.

Click here to listen or right click and choose "Save Link As..." to download.

You can always email us at cinemaheadcheese@yahoo.com.

Click on any of the links above to purchase at Amazon.com or click the link to our sponsors below and support Cinema Head Cheese and Abnormal Entertainment!

Music Review: Calabrese: Dayglo Necros (2012)

It's always amazing to me that the psychobilly genre took so long to exist. Based on the Glenn Danzig fronted The Misfits, it's something that started decades after the band originally hit. It could have something to do with the resurgence of the band with new front man Michale Graves, or it could just be something that needed time, but here it is, and Calabrese seems to be near the front of the pack.

I had originally heard of them from their album 13 Halloweens, and I also got to see the video for Voices of the Dead, which was directed by Brian Pulido (Chaos! Comics) and featured our own David Hayes as Tor Johnson. I definitely saw growth from 13 to Voices, and I see continued growth in Dayglo Necros.

Movie Review: Freak Dance (2010)

Directed by Matt Besser, Neil Mahoney

Starring Joshua Allen, Edwin J. Bennett and Matt Besser

When rich girl Cocolonia (Megan Heyn) cant shake her booty at home because of her uptight mom (Amy Poehler), she hits the streets, determined to live the lifestyle of a poor, uneducated street dancer. She soon hooks up with a group of  dancers who are about to lose their dance-studio if they cannot come up with money to pay the fines levied by the building inspector.

Together with her new dance partner Funky Bunch (Michael Cassady), Cocolonia must partake in the most dangerous and forbidden dance of them all, The Freak Dance, in a dance-fight to the finish against their arch-rivals, led by the flamboyantly sinister Dazzle (Drew Droege), in an attempt to win enough money to save the studio. The last time The Freak Dance was performed was when the former leader of Funky Bunch’s troupe, Astonaut (Corby Griesenbeck) performed it with Dazzle’s sister.......resulting in Astonaut losing his penis and Dazzle’s sister dying from a shattered spine.

JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT IT WAS SAFE TO GO TOPLESS AGAIN… eOne and Cinema Head Cheese Give Away GIRLS GONE DEAD!

This is a simple contest for our readers! Just like or comment on our Facebook post about the contest, or email us at cinemaheadcheese@yahoo.com and tell us that you'd like to be entered. Three winners will be randomly drawn. It's that easy! Contest ends August 27, 2012, so hurry!

A hilarious throwback to the sexy 80s’ comedy/horror flicks. GIRLS GONE DEAD centers around six beautiful high school friends reunitING for spring break during their freshman year in college -- only to find a sadistic killer with a medieval war hammer has targeted them! With a cast filled with notorious celebs and personalities – such as Jerry Lawler ("WWE Raw"), Beetlejuice and Sal ‘The Stockbroker’ Governale of “The Howard Stern Show”, Ron Jeremy, Iron Maiden’s Nicko McBrain, scream queen Linnea Quigley and a passel of Penthouse Pets like Ryan Keely and Janessa Brazil – this soon-to-be cult classic is certain to add some sizzle to your summer!

Movie Review: Total Recall (1990, Blu-ray)

Arguably one of the best early 90's sci-fi/action films, Total Recall, is seeing a release to the Blu-ray format thanks to the folks at Lionsgate films. This classic Arnie vehicle is also seeing a remake starring Colin Ferrell and Jessica Biel. Next to Terminator and Terminator II: Judgment Day it's my personal favorite movie starring the "Governator" himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger. To put it mildly, I'm very pleased to see this film in High Definition.

Based on Philip K. Dick's short story We Can Remember It For You Wholesale, Paul Verhoeven's Total Recal has Arnie as our titular charachter Douglas Quaid. A hard-working construction worker and loyal husband to his wife (Sharon Stone, Basic Instinct) just looking for a little escape.

Movie Review: Red Scorpion (Arrow Video, Blu-ray)

Reviewed by Thomas Berdinski

Big action movie guy? Me? Not really, although I did like “The Avengers” movie. No, I usually spend my time watching rare (often thought “lost”) European and Asian horror flicks – But hey, when James DePaolo of Cinema Headcheese asks you to review the 1988 cult-classic actioner “Red Scorpion” starring the iconic Swedish “He-Man” Dolph Lundgren, I figure I can give my carpel tunnel muscles a few extra reps at the keyboard. (And I am half Swedish after all… And half Sascratch...)

So, what is “Red Scorpion” about? Well, it’s basically about a brooding Soviet super-agent named Nikolai (Dolph) who is sent to Africa to kill an anti-communist tribal revolutionary. (I guess someone thought this guy’s tribe was a real threat to the Soviet Union? Hmm…) However, as events unfold and Nikolai experiences the cruelty of his communist superiors, he has a sort of spiritual awakening, changes sides and leads the tribes against the evil reds and their attack chopper. Sounds familiar enough, but this movie has at least one unexpected twist: It has M. Emmet Walsh…

WIN REAL H.G.LEWIS GORE!

WIN REAL H.G.LEWIS GORE!

CULTMOVIEMANIA.COM to give away 3 AUTOGRAPHED

H.G. Lewis’s The Uh-Oh! Show Signed & Bloody

Ultimate Deluxe DVD Super Sets

featuring real H.G. Lewis movie gore!

On August 6^th, 2012

CLEARWATER, FL (August 3rd, 2012) – Godfather of Gore HERSCHELL GORDON LEWIS is back with his latest masterpiece, The Uh-Oh! Show, and CultMovieMania.com is giving away ACTUAL GORE FROM THE MOVIE. That’s right! Real Herschell Gordon Lewis gore, direct from the set of The Uh-Oh! Show. It’s so authentic you can smell the violence. And it’s a must own for any serious exploitation movie collector.

The gore is part of the H.G. Lewis’ The Uh-Oh! Show Signed & Bloody Ultimate Deluxe DVD Super Set from CULTMOVIEMANIA.COM. The website is giving a set to three lucky winners in honor of the upcoming release.  For your chance to win, simply visit CULTMOVIEMANIA.COM and SIGN UP for the FREE Shock Sheet Newsletter. The three winners will be selected at random and announced at CULTMOVIEMANIA.COM on August 6^th, 2012. Only Shock Sheet Newsletter subscribers are eligible to win. You can also sign up at the Cult Movie Mania Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/cultmoviemania1

Movie Review: Headspace (Director's Cut, 2005)

Directed by Andrew van den Houten

Starring Olivia Husey, William Atherton and Sean Young

The film starts out with young Alex, his brother and parents enjoying his tenth birthday party. Soon after blowing out his candles, Alex’s mother suffers a nosebleed and shortly thereafter she begins acting very strangely. After she butchers the family dog, dad decides it might be best to pack up the boys and get out of the house. Unfortunately they don't make it out before mother comes chasing after them with a chef’s knife and dad is forced to put her down via a 12 gauge slug to the face, (great head-shot FX in this scene). On top of witnessing all this, the boys are then abandoned by their father and split up into foster care.

Movie Review: Casa de mi Padre (2012, Blu-ray)

Directed by Andrew Steele

Starring Will Ferrell, Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna

Armando Alvarez (Will Ferrell), is a simple man living a simple life on his fathers vast Mexican rancho. A complete disappointment to his father, he would rather be with the hired hands rounding up stray calves, as opposed to his brother who is out making a name for himself. When Armando’s brother Raul (Diego Luna) returns home with his bride-to-be, things start getting dicey as feelings between Armando and his brothers woman begin to heat up. As this is going on, a drug cartel is making its way onto the rancho, and Armando soon finds out the reason why- because his brother is actually a drug dealer who is challenging the cartel.  The love triangle and drama then turn to tragedy and it is up to Armando to bring honor back to his disgraced family and save the woman he loves from the clutches of the vicious Onza cartel.